


my kind of person

by orphan_account



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Alternate Universe - Teenagers, Arcades, Coming of Age, Crushes, Emotional Manipulation, Enemies to lovers ?, Explicit Language, Family Dynamics, First Dates, Fluff and Humor, Friendship/Love, Hometowns, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, Light Angst, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romantic Fluff, Skateboarding, Skateparks, Slow Burn, Smoking, Unhealthy Relationships, a bit of miscommunication too, his ex is a bitch fr, hongjoong is trying to not be interested, no more spoilers - Freeform, not really but, read it lol, seonghwa beats some ass, seonghwa is gay as hell and bold
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-16 06:54:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29078163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: after just finishing a very hellish junior year of high school, hongjoong takes it upon himself to enjoy this summer and forget about his problematic experiences.wanting to just solely focus on his personal life, he throws relationships and crushes to the side as they soon become long forgotten.that was, until his family decided to invite the new neighbors over for dinner.
Relationships: Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa
Comments: 3
Kudos: 17





	1. prologue — new beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> just a little something i’m excited to write write about! before we begin, keep in mind that the characters, ships, plot and everything else is purely fiction. please separate the character from the real person! :] 
> 
> i hope you enjoy reading, have fun!

“was that the last of it?” the voice closer to hongjoong yelled.

he looked up from his phone to see a big moving truck parked right next door to his home, the truck almost touching their driveway.

there was furniture on the lawn and small objects laying around with boxes.

“nope!!!” a different voice from afar replied. 

hongjoong watched as the unfamiliar boy set another big cardboard box on the porch, sighing. 

the boy lifted his gaze to glance as his surroundings, seemingly oblivious a new to the area.

at that moment, the world seemed to slow down as the two made eye contact.

hongjoong could practically feel his stomach do backflips while he admired the stranger’s attractiveness. 

the boy swallowed, lifting his hand up shyly in a greeting manner. 

hongjoong found it adorable.

right before he could greet back, a voice interrupted.

“seonghwa! get over here and help me with this!” 

both hongjoong and the boy— seonghwa, looked towards the direction of the truck.

returning their gaze back to each other, seonghwa pointed to the truck with his thumb and scoffed, rolling his eyes in a joking manner to which hongjoong couldn’t help but smile at. 

“seonghwa!”

seonghwa’s head snapped quickly, shouting a reply back. “okay!”

seonghwa glanced back at hongjoong, showing another shy smile before hopping off the porch and walking towards the driveway.

hongjoong only watched for a few moments until he dashed inside his house without the other seeing him.

there was an abnormally, extremely, beautiful, cute boy next door, and hongjoong had a strange feeling this wasn’t going to be their last encounter.


	2. window neighbors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! i hope you like the first chapter, please leave any comments or thoughts, they motivate me a lot more to write <33 have a nice day/night :]

hongjoong watched in dreadfulness and distress as the digital clock seemed to not change it's numbers for an eternity. he tapped his pencil on the school's desk, foot tapping in sync with it.

"-and so, that's how the story finishes. now, we have a few minutes before the bell rings so i'd like to remind you all of the summer student service learning hours you'll have to do before your senior year begins."

the teacher pointed to the chalk board with his abnormally long ruler, where in big bold letters were the words 'service hours'.

everyone half mumbled a low yes, chatter slowly beginning to fill the classroom as everyone waited the final moments till school was over.

everyone practically counted down the seconds in anticipation to complete the final steps of leaving school for a good four months of pure relaxation and relief.

the feeling of wanting to run out of class to meet up with friends, to empty out lockers, to say goodbyes with school friends you never hung out with— every teenager loved the feeling.

hongjoong in particular was feeling it more than his past few summers.

junior year on it's own was a really rough year for hongjoong. he had been through a lot, not to mention the schoolwork and exams did not help him in any way.

a break is all he needed, he repeated to himself.

away from relationships and stupid crushes that made you hungover every little stupid thing— he needed it.

a loud, familiar bell rung through the school; the sound of doors opening and people running with loud conversations soon began to fill the once calm atmosphere.

everyone in his class got up in excitement, all rushing out at once as he did as well.

exiting the classroom, his ears were immediately filled with chatter, sneakers screeching on the floors, backpacks ruffling and laughter.

he walked through the crowded hallways, backpack over his shoulder as he made his way to his locker down another hall.

he avoided bumping into other people, some of them never bothered looking around them and always ending up hitting other people by accident; something hongjoong hated.

another thing hongjoong hated was physical touch.

well, maybe not hate, dislike is the correct word. his dislike for physical touch is sadly limited, since he has a horrible weak spot for his super lovey-touchy group of friends.

approaching his locker, he noticed a familiar group of boys his age surrounding his locker. a few were holding skateboards, others on their cellphones, and two of them were emptying out their lockers.

"hey mr. sexy!"

"hongjoong!"

"hey best friend!"

"ayo!"

hongjoong gave them a crooked smile, turning his lock as he put in his code and swinging open the locker. "hey guys."

wooyoung rustled hongjoong's dyed hair, peering into to get a clearer look of the inside of his locker. "dude, you had swedish fish and didn't tell me?"

the boy grabbed it, opening the large bag with a smile and hand digging in. the others got closer, putting their arms inside for a handful as well.

yunho closed his locker, sighing in relief and stretching his arms out like he was thanking an entity in the sky. “thank god this school year is over."

hongjoong ripped off old band magazine cut

outs from the small confined space, shaking his head as he crumbled them into paper balls.

he scoffed, "you're telling me."

hongjoong had won ‘worst year’ award in their friend group and honestly, they were all right.

"absolutely hell... how did we survive." san whispered, to which mingi made an over-dramatic-but-agreeing cry.

wooyoung chewed with his mouth open, cheeks full of candy. "i font know how i paffed."

yeosang tapped his chin, to which wooyoung closed immediately. "chew with your mouth closed."

wooyoung grinned sheepishly, swallowing.

hongjoong rolled his eyes, "you passed because me and yeosang helped you study."

"okay, but i took the tests!"

"i gave you the test review in secret!" hongjoong argued back.

"your fault for being a smart ass!"

"do i take offense to this or not!"

"where's jongho?" yunho asked casually, looking around from the end of the hallway to the other.

yeosang hummed. "i think he was talking with one of his teachers about putting him in the junior math course next year,"

mingi cooed, "oooh, he wants to be in math class with san sooo bad-"

san narrowed his eyes. "we're in the same math class you dumb f-"

hongjoong grabbed his skateboard before closing his locker, censoring san's explicit language. he turned to yeosang and whistled, admiring the object in the blonde boy's grip. "did you get a new one?"

he looked up from his phone to hongjoong, then glanced at his new blue skateboard before nodding.

"just got it last week as an 'early birthday present'." yeosang replied, tucking his phone back in his pocket.

"i want a new one too, i need to change the trucks soon..." san muttered, examining his own skateboard.

"can we go now?" hongjoong asked, glancing around to see if everyone was present.

they all nodded. "i told jongho to meet us at the gates." yeosang said, adjusting his backpack.

"okay, cool." hongjoong replied, beginning to walk down the hallway together as they talked in the crowded space.

they exited the school building, taking a deep breath of freedom while they patiently waited for their youngest of the group to join.

all seven leaning against the brick wall, they stared at their school as they watched people walk in and out. some with friends, others alone, some with smiles, others with frowns.

it was a loud place, but there was something that made it seem to quiet and calm that none of them could explain.

hongjoong sighed, "i can't wait until i graduate from this shithole."

"me too." they all replied in sync.

"do you guys plan on going to college?" wooyoung asked, tilting his head back.

hongjoong hummed, "i've been looking into it."

"me too, i think i'll be able to get in with a scholarship." yunho added.

"i kinda don't want to go. imagine more school, more work. fuck, that is so much work." san wiped his face, dragging his under eyes.

"yeah... i don't want to go either but i don't know what i would do," yeosang said, sighing shallowly.

mingi sighed, "i'll probably not go, but then again my parents.."

they all nodded in agreement. school and college were both things all of their parents have wanted them to excel in since birth. college is equivalent to success in their eyes, and sometimes, just for the sake of them— you do things you don't like.

"man, i need a job," mingi groaned.

"come work with me!" san offered, punching his shoulder and receiving a glare from mingi.

"no way. your job sucks."

“wha-"

yunho chimed in. "he's right. the only reason you tolerate it is because attractive people show up for you."

“is not!" san argued back, huffing.

"you-"

" _hongjoong!_ "

everyone's heads turned to the voice that called, including hongjoong. from not too far, you could make out a familiar figure walking out the school's opened doors.

"oh." was all that hongjoong quietly said, not taking his eyes off from the person coming their way.

everyone’s expressions tightened as they watched him walk closer. anger and annoyance boiled through their veins that were struggling to calm down, only shooting glares.

yunho’s jaw tried not to drop. "is that who i think it is..."

san scoffed, "the fucking audacity..."

wooyoung glared at the walking figure with a burning passion. "what the fuck does he want?"

yeosang crossed his arms, leaning back even more. "i really, really, hate that guy."

"me too." all of them replied in sync, except hongjoong.

"do you want us to stay?" wooyoung asked, peering at hongjoong.

hongjoong didn't make eye contact with him, only shaking his head in response as he watched the person inch closer.

wooyoung only nodded, looking reluctant to leave before looking at the other three on the side of hongjoong and nodded towards the gates.

they all nodded, "we'll wait for you by the front." wooyoung commented, placing a hand on his shoulder.

hongjoong nodded, all of them standing up straight on cue and then walking away before he realized.

the once distant walking figure now stood in front of him with a smile on his face, looking down at hongjoong.

"hey."

"what do you want?"

the guy made a very offended expression, inching closer to him. "hongjoong."

hongjoong stared at him with a bored expression, "jinhae." he repeated in a mocking manner.

jinhae sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"okay, let's talk. please."

hongjoong scoffed. "talk about what? how you were cheating on me or all the other shit i tolerated when we were dating?"

jinhae visibly winced at the accusations, holding his hands out in a defensive manner. "you have a reason to be hurt, i completely understand that but-"

hongjoong narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms and nodded as if he were listening, before he clicked his tongue. “hold on,”

jinhae stopped, listening to curiously to what he had to say.

hongjoong took a deep breath, and jinhae’s hopes rose. “i...”

“... really do not give a fuck. stop wasting my time and leave me alone, please. if that’s all, i hope you have a nice summer. or don’t- i don’t care.”

without letting him speak, hongjoong left— walking away and purposefully bumping into his shoulder as a form of pettiness.

he was lucky hongjoong hadn’t smacked him with his skateboard.

he stepped out of the gates, letting go a breath of relief. he had maybe wanted to say a lot more and get stuff of his chest but honestly, that was good enough to satisfy him.

his eyes searched for his friends; finding a group of familiar figures huddled by a tree while they talked about something inaudible from where hongjoong stood.

hongjoong waited a few seconds until san’s head turned to see him, face lighting up instantly as he tapped mingi’s shoulder rapidly to turn.

everyone ending up turning in sync, hongjoong just noticing jongho standing in the back. he had probably walked past hongjoong before without both of them knowing.

hongjoong and his friends all walked until they met in the middle, all huddling close to talk about the recent events.

“how did it go?” yeosang asked, curiosity but a tint of worry mixing with his voice.

“well... i basically told him to fuck off,” hongjoong shrugged, to which they all cheered.

“free from the shackles of ugly men!” wooyoung celebrated, giving a high five to san.

hongjoong’s expression quickly dropped, looking away in shame, pretending to look at the trees.

“no way...” mingi said in disbelief, covering his mouth with his hand.

yeosang’s face scrunched up in disgust. “hongjoong...”

“you can’t be serious!” san exclaimed.

“he’s ugly!” wooyoung screeched.

jongho nodded, “i agree, he’s not not the best looking.”

yunho pointed at jongho accusingly. “see? even the kid here knows you have horrible taste!”

hongjoong cowered his head at each insult at jinhae’s appearance. yes, hongjoong could admit he had an odd type, but it wasn’t as bad as his friends were making it.

“come on!! it’s not that bad!” hongjoong whined, covering his head with his arms.

“yeah okay, you thought mr. jung was attractive.” wooyoung snickered, leading to everyone jumping in.

“shut up..... that was freshman year... move on you hag!!”

wooyoung gasped. “ _hag_?!?! aren’t you older?!”

hongjoong rolled his eyes, walking away with a middle finger in the air. “whatever. i have to go home early. later losers.”

“yeah, yeah, i hope you get hit by a car!” wooyoung yelled, making hongjoong turn around and stick his tongue out.

“bye! we’ll text you if we wanna order pizza later!” yunho joined, only receiving a nod from hongjoong before he laid his skateboard on the cement and jumped on.

wooyoung clicked his tongue in disapproval, crossing his arms as he watched hongjoong disappear once he turned the corner down the street. “horrible taste in men for being such a pretty person, don’t you think?”

all of them nodded in sync once more, “mhm.”

* * *

hongjoong listened to music as he skated through the town, feeling the fresh air hit his face as he passed by buildings he knew and places he had been to. he loved skating right after school— when the streets were busy with cars and the sun was at it’s peak during the day.

after a few turns and shortcuts, he began to arrive into his neighborhood.

his neighborhood wasn’t anything special. it was pretty close to his school and the people were okay, plus there was a park and a swimming pool so he wouldn’t complain.

hongjoong was excited for this summer. maybe he wouldn’t do anything and be bored out of his mind, but it was better than last year.

last year, jinhae had made him come watch all of his football games and would make him accompany him everywhere.

the worst part? he wouldn’t even talk to hongjoong.

hongjoong was basically a pawn in his game— hongjoong attracted people, jinhae wanted the people’s attention.

hongjoong huffed in annoyance, jumping off of his skateboard and kicked it into hand. he paused his music, taking his head phones off as he started getting closer to his house.

keeping his eyes on his phone, he scrolledthrough twitter aimlessly, passing time while he walked.

“was that the last of it?” a voice yelled from afar.

hongjoong looked up at the sudden noise, surprised to see a big, orange truck right next to his house. there was furniture everywhere, with objects and boxes randomly lying on the lawn.

“nope!!!” a different voice from afar replied.

hongjoong watched as the unfamiliar boy set another big cardboard box on the porch, sighing.

the boy lifted his gaze to glance as his surroundings, seemingly oblivious a new to the area.

at that moment, the world seemed to slow down as the two made eye contact.

hongjoong could practically feel his stomach do backflips while he admired the stranger’s attractiveness.

the boy swallowed, lifting his hand up shyly in a greeting manner.

hongjoong found it adorable.

right before he could greet back, a voice interrupted.

“seonghwa! get over here and help me with this!”

both hongjoong and the boy— seonghwa, looked towards the direction of the truck.

returning their gaze back to each other, seonghwa pointed to the truck with his thumb and scoffed, rolling his eyes in a joking manner to which hongjoong couldn’t help but smile at.

“seonghwa!”

seonghwa’s head snapped quickly, shouting a reply back. “okay!”

seonghwa glanced back at hongjoong, showing another shy smile before hopping off the porch and walking towards the driveway.

hongjoong only watched for a few moments until he dashed inside his house without the other seeing him.

hongjoong took off his shoes, trying to process just what had happened outside. the greeting and everything else was normal, but why did it feel so strange?

just as he was about to go upstairs, his mom yelled from the kitchen.

“hongjoong, are you home honey?”

hongjoong froze half way, turning around robotically and walking back down to the kitchen. he threw his backpack on the couch and left his skateboard on the way, appearing empty handed to his mother.

“yeah, i’m here.”

his mom was in her baby blue apron, the one hongjoong had made himself for her around a year ago for her birthday.

she smiled at him, walking by quickly to give him a peck on the cheek and getting seasoning out of the cabinet.

“how was school? isn’t today the last day?”

hongjoong nodded, walking around the kitchen aimlessly and opening the cabinets until he found his snacks from yesterday.

he reached for it, automatically getting slapped by his mother’s hand. “ah, ah, ah, no. i’m making food right now. no snacks.”

hongjoong glanced the stove, examining the food she was beginning to prepare. he turned his head back to her, “what? you never care if i have snacks or not...”

she shrugged, “i want you to eat all of the food this time.”

hongjoong raised a brow, “what are you making?”

“don’t worry, it’s your favorite dish! but, i need to make sure you don’t leave a bad impression by not finishing all of your food. sometimes, you barely eat my food you know-“

“bad impression? for what?” he asked, closing the cabinet to stare at her in confusion.

“well, with the new neighbors of course. i invited them for dinner, remember! i told you didn’t i?”

hongjoong tried his best to not look unnecessarily shocked, only painfully staring as he tried to remember if she had actually let him know.

she had mentioned that they’d have dinner with someone, not with neighbors though.

“also, his son is a very attractive young man. i think you two would really make a cute-“

“mom!”

she scoffed dramatically. “whaat? i’m just saying! he’s your age and handsome, plus, your next door neighbors. this is the beginning of a drama if you ask me,”

“okay, but-“

“you’ve seen him?”

hongjoong paused at his mistake. “what?”

“what?”

he shook his head, “what? no- they were just moving stuff outside how would i miss that?”

she covered over mouth with both hands. “oh my, so have you talked to him?”

“no. mom. it was-“

“do you hear that?”

“hear what?”

“bells!!”

“i’m going to my room.”

* * *

hongjoong stared at his ceiling, his eyes tracing over the white cloud paintings he made himself just a few years ago that still look new and clean.

hung from the ceiling were a string of lightbulbs in a zig zag manner, dimly lighting up his entire room without the necessity of a lamp. he counted them over and over again in boredom.

after escaping from his mom, he had sat in his room and did nothing but catch up on his show and take a nap to avoid what would eventually happen.

it wasn’t that hongjoong was bad at talking with new people.

on the contrary, hongjoong considered himself a good talker when it came to it. well, at least he’d try his best to not make the conversation awkward.

sitting up on his bed, he turned his head to his window.

the sun was beginning to set and his closed blinds were starting to show a pink mixed with orange light peering through. he sighed, looking at the large digital clock on his wall.

7:30pm. dinner time.

he sighed, standing up from his bed and walking to his mirror. “okay. time to be positive. they’re your neighbors, say a quick hello and you will never see him again.”

he opened his drawers, looking for his hairbrush as he patted his head comfortably.

after easily brushing his hair, hongjoong couldn’t help but stare at his many familiar ear piercings for a little too long, finally deciding on taking off the sunflower dangle earring.

suddenly, his bedroom door opened. his little sister looked frantic as she rushed to hongjoong and shook him with an abnormal amount of force for a third grader.

“hair! do my hair!!!”

“chuu? what? for what!”

“the cute boy coming over!!” she shook him even harder this time, desperately.

hongjoong gasped, “what cute boy!”

“i don’t know! i think he’s my age but we played today and i want to look pretty!”

hongjoong paused, “he has a younger sibling...?”

“who?” she asked, tilting her head.

“you didn’t see an older guy outside?”

she shook her head, “does he have an older brother or...?”

hongjoong shook his head, “never mind, come here.” he patted his lap quickly and got out a different hair brush with accessories.

in less then ten minutes, hongjoong had french braided her hair an added little butterfly clips on the side. he let her borrow a pair of his smaller earrings, which made her happy.

chuu ran out of the room, slamming the door and yelling a few muffled words to hongjoong about being in the basement.

hongjoong walked away from his mirror, beginning to make his bed and pick up a few extra belongings that were on the floor.

he reorganized his beauty supplies and even his earrings, knowing his mom she’d probably invite them to go to his room.

“hongjoong! open the door!”

hongjoong quickly exited his room, walking down the stairs and bracing himself as he turned the lock on the door to open it.

he creaked the door open, getting greeted by two adults, seonghwa and a child who looked like a third grader.

seonghwa’s mother held a bunch of different food containers in her hands, his father held drinks.

the mother showed him a kind smile. “hi dear! are you hongjoong?”

hongjoong nodded, showing a smile back. “yes i am, nice to meet you. come in,”

he extended the door more, making eye contact with seonghwa before moving to the side as the family of four walked in and put on slippers before stepping onto the hardwood floor.

the kid gasped, pointing at the large canvas above the fireplace. it was a scenery of a rainforest, with animals and a stream that look extremely realistic. “woah! that painting is sick, look mom!”

seonghwa’s mother shot a glare. “min, you don’t say sick when you’re complimenting things, we have talked about this.”

his mom appeared out of thin air, showing a smile to the family.

“aw, let him! kids always use that type of slang these days. hongjoong does too. he painted that ‘sick’ canvas, min.”

she gasped, both her, min and seonghwa turning to hongjoong. “really, that’s incredible!”

hongjoong only nodded and smiled at her compliment, begging to not make it awkward and not knowing what else to do.

for a moment, hongjoong accidentally glanced at seonghwa. the taller seemed to have already been staring off at him, looking away quickly as he realized hongjoong might’ve noticed.

“well... make yourselves at home. you can put all the stuff over here!”

“thank you for having us,” seonghwa’s father said, following her and setting the drinks down on a table.

“it’s no problem! when i heard from lia that you guys were moving into town i got so excited!”

“what’s for dinner?” seonghwa’s mom— lia, asked. she walked over to the kitchen, examining all the food and bowls.

“have you two been friends for long?” hongjoong randomly asked his mom, peering at her from the table into the kitchen.

“yeah! we met in high school and went to college together. it’s an amazing coincidence, don’t you think?”

hongjoong didn’t reply, only began setting the bowls and spoons on the table as seonghwa quietly helped him. they didn’t make eye contact, only handing each other utensils to set down and whisper small thank yous.

min, the youngest brother, pointed at hongjoong’s dirty blonde hair. “i like your hair. are you naturally blonde? your mom’s isn’t,”

hongjoong shook his head with a smile looking down and him, “no, i’m not. i did my hair just a few months ago.”

“that’s so cool! do you want to try another color?”

hongjoong hummed. “maybe pink? or i might try blue too...”

“since we’re neighbors now, when you do, you should invite me and we can do it together! by the way, do you have a sister?” min looked around the large dinning room, peaking into doorways with his eyes.

“ah yes,” hongjoong set down the last plate, putting his hands together and smiling min as seonghwa watched.

“chuu told me about you earlier. she’s in the basement right now if you want me to get her.”

“yeah!”

hongjoong nodded, chuckling and walking away to the basement. just a minute later, he came back up with a younger and shorter little girl by his side.

she had long french braids with butterfly hair accessories and a summer dress in the same color. she held a smile on her lips identical to hongjoong’s.

“hi min!”

“chuu!”

hongjoong smiled as he watched the two children get excited as they started talking about things he didn’t quite understand.

he let them go play in the living room while he approached the dinning table to check if everything was in place.

“um, where are the napkins?” seonghwa asked, almost startling hongjoong. he glanced up from the table to seonghwa.

“uh- i’ll get them,” he offered, walking around the table and into the kitchen to which seonghwa silently followed, like a kitten.

hongjoong opened the cabinet, reaching into the shelf and getting a plastic wrapped cube of napkins to hand to seonghwa.

they walked back to the table, a bit taken back about how everyone was already seated and talking lowly as they sat in seats across from each other.

chuu and min were sat across from each other with empty seats at their sides, hongjoong guessed that’s where the older siblings were to be seated.

“thank you for the food.” everyone said in union, beginning to eat their meals.

min was enjoying his food, taking sips from his juice as he looked around the table in what seemed like confusion.

“hey, where’s your dad?” he asked chuu.

before chuu could reply, the park family seemed like they could’ve choked with how they froze on the spot.

“min-“

hongjoong’s mom laughed, covering her mouth as she tried to swallow her food, shaking her head. “it’s okay, it’s okay!”

hongjoong only smiled, turning his head to the raven haired child. “it’s just me, chuu and my mom, min.”

chuu nodded, smiling. “yeah, we don’t have a dad but that’s okay! mommy is a really good mom!”

“oh okay!”

after that, everyone tried their best to disregard the unfiltered comment made by the child. they all moved onto talking about jobs, families, their children, etc.

hongjoong and seonghwa visibly had no interest in the adult conversation, picking at their finished plates and staring off into a distance or pretending to listen.

it was a bit awkward, their two younger siblings were chatting away a storm while they sat and picked at their food.

“i thought you two had talked before, why the silence?” hongjoong’s mom asked, grabbing the attention of the two.

hongjoong winced, “mom, i didn’t say we talked...”

“come on! you’re both the same age right? hongjoong what year are you going into?”

hongjoong’s eyes flickered to seonghwa’s, who only stared back as well. “um, senior...”

she clapped her hands together. “perfect! so is seonghwa. there, you have something in common.”

“mom...” seonghwa started.

his mom glanced hesitantly around at them, before smiling. “hey, do you guys want to go buy ice cream? the truck is coming soon.”

“ice cream! yes! let’s go!” min and chuu exclaimed, leaving the dinner table before both seonghwa and hongjoong stood up.

“hongjoong, here.” his mother handed him a folded ten dollar bill, to which hongjoong took as he made eye contact with seonghwa and both of them stood up.

the two didn’t talk at all until they stepped outside of the house, shutting the door and letting out a breath.

“i hate being put on the spot,” hongjoong muttered, not expecting a reply from the quiet latter as he fished his phone from his pocket.

“tell me about it.”

“oh. you speak,” was all hongjoong replied.

seonghwa narrowed his eyes, “well, obviously.”

hongjoong mimicked the action before shrugging, sitting on the porch steps as hongjoong mirrored the action.

“i told my mom i saw you earlier and tried to say hi, she immediately wanted us to talk.”

hongjoong tilted his head, “why?”

seonghwa sighed, “they been waiting to be neighbors so we could be friends for the longest time of their lives, apparently. it’s a big ‘exciting’ thing.”

the conversation fell in silence for a few moments as they both stared at min and chuu playing tag on the lawn. there was loud chatter and laughs filling the air, and it was just the two of them.

“so it’s not exciting for you,” hongjoong pointed out carefully.

seonghwa stayed silent, shaking his head. “no.”

“well, i’m hongjoong. nice to meet you, again.”

seonghwa stared at the boy with a blank look, before slightly smiling and began to study hongjoong.

“seonghwa. nice to meet you too.”

god, if a stare could kill it’d be seonghwa’s. even though it’s a bit more intimidating than attractive, hongjoong tried to mentally calm his heart from basically beating out of his chest.

“i like your earrings.” seonghwa pointed to his ears where the jewelry was, hongjoong unconsciously touching it.

“oh, thank you. i like your... full black fit?” hongjoong tried, his eyes scanning over seonghwa’s all black outfit. he was wearing a simple shirt with a white and black plaid cardigan, with ripped jeans and chains dangling from the side.

seonghwa snorted, “you didn’t have to compliment me back.”

“it’s only fair,”

“yeah, okay.” seonghwa rolled his eyes, crossing his ankles and resting his elbows on the stairs above.

“do you have anything you like to do?” hongjoong asked, glancing at the end of the road for the sound of an incoming ice cream truck.

“well, i used to be in a band.” seonghwa said ever-so casually.

hongjoong’s head turned to him. “for real? what did you play?”

“i was the lead singer.”

“so like... was it a nirvana band type of thing?”

seonghwa hesitated for a second, nodding. “yeah, something like that.”

he glanced to the side, eyeing hongjoong. “what about you?”

“well, i like art... and skateboarding.”

“oh yeah, i saw your board earlier. i like it.”

hongjoong smiled, “thanks, i designed the deck.”

seonghwa’s eyebrows raised in amusement, “really? that’s cool.”

“the truck!” chuu yelled at hongjoong, making both of them turn to the voice. they stood and walk to the parked ice cream vehicle.

“hi, can i get one chocolate mint cone with chocolate sprinkles, a strawberry and vanilla cone and um...” hongjoong turned to seonghwa and min.

“i want a chocolate and vanilla cone!” min told the elderly man, who nodded and smiled.

hongjoong’s eyes returned to seonghwa’s, “what about you?”

seonghwa pursed his lips together unconsciously, humming to himself, “i’ll get a vanilla cone.”

the elderly nodded, already handing the first orders down. hongjoong handed the chocolate mint to his sister, kept the strawberry for himself, and the two other cones to the brothers.

he handed the elder the money, telling him to keep whatever change was left before smiling and leaving.

seonghwa walked over and sat on the three person swinging chair, hongjoong following and leaving an open space in the middle.

“do you plan on doing anything this summer?” hongjoong asked, biting his ice cream.

seonghwa’s jaw dropped, completely ignoring the question as he pointed to hongjoong. “did you just... bite it...”

“yes?”

“remind me never to mess with you,”

hongjoong covered his mouth, laughing. “you’re actually pretty funny for someone so quiet,”

seonghwa shook his head, taking out his phone and scrolling through apps. “i’m not quiet,”

“then, shy?”

seonghwa shrugged. “maybe.”

hongjoong hummed, eyes watching seonghwa closely as the other just scrolled through his phone. “interesting,”

seonghwa’s eyes flickered from his phone to hongjoongs, catching him off guard. “checking me out?”

hongjoong choked on his ice cream, thankfully not turning into a coughing mess. seonghwa’s personality seemed to take quite a turn quickly. “what? no-“

seonghwa shut his phone off and threw his head back, laughing. “i’m joking,”

“or were you?” he added teasingly, almost inching closer to hongjoong. hongjoong back away, lifting his foot up to block. “nuh-uh. was not.”

seonghwa opened his mouth to speak, a smirk on it’s peak of showing when he spotted his mom poking her head out at the front door.

“looks like it’s time to go,” seonghwa mumbled, standing up and making the seats swing gently while hongjoong followed once more.

seonghwa’s parents had said goodbye to hongjoong’s mom already, stepping off the porch to wait for chuu and min to say their goodbyes.

before they reached his family, seonghwa quickly spun around, startling hongjoong with the sudden move. “by the way,”

“yeah?”

“is that your bedroom on that side?” he pointed to the left side of the house, where hongjoong knew his bedroom window was.

hongjoong tilted his head, ice cream cone still in hand. “yeah, it is. why?”

seonghwa smiled, “nice. window neighbors with the cute boy next door.”

hongjoong only stared at seonghwa’s back as he walked away, approaching his family. it took a few moments for hongjoong to just process what had happened, cheeks beginning to heat up.

“what...”

and with that, he walked back inside— ignoring his mother’s protests to tell him what they had been talking about and heading for his room. he laid back down on his bed, staring at his ceiling once more in thought.

his eyes traveled to the window on his wall, holding back the need to open the blinds. there was no way he was going to that, not after talking to him for the first time ever.

_“window neighbors with the cute boy next door.”_

the words echoed in his mind a few more times, his eyes beginning to feel heavy as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

first day out of school— this was just the beginning of summer.


End file.
